Puppy Love
by The Legend of Rune Factory
Summary: When Kristoff finds a puppy in the forest, he brings it to the castle in order to take care of it. Anna is ecstatic, but Elsa is less than pleased. She hates dogs and is only allowing him to stay until the end of winter. But when she finds herself cornered by wolves in the forest, suddenly Vilhelm isn't such a bad dog after all.


**This was originally going to be for my Kristelsa one-shot collection, _Ice_, but I decided it should be by itself since it really doesn't have much to do with their relationship. Please, enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

* * *

The sound of the crackling fire filled the room, which was empty save for the queen. Elsa sat nestled in the corner of the sofa, a book in her hands. She flipped a page, eager to read what the outcome of young Sylvia Fitzsimmons' decision would be. Would Demetri Highman love her after the debacle with her twin sister? Or would he leave her for her twin sister? Or was the maid really involved?!

Her thoughts were interrupted by her younger sister who burst into the room. "Elsa!" She shouted, dashing to the couch and ripping the book from Elsa's hands. "Elsa, you've gotta see what Kristoff found!"

"Is it so important that you had to interrupt me?!" Elsa growled, taking back her book.

"Oh believe me, it's worth it."

At that moment she heard a shrill 'yap'. "What on earth...?" Elsa began to get up, just to have a black ball of fur tackle her.

"Isn't he cute?" Anna cooed, petting the animal.

Elsa managed to push it away from her face. "What is a _dog_ doing in my castle?!"

Anna pulled the puppy into her lap and played with him. "He's so cute though!" She picked him up and rubbed her nose against his. "Yes you are! Yes you are!"

"You sound like Kristoff..." Elsa watched the puppy wriggle in her sister's hands before he squirmed onto the floor and ran to the door with a yap.

"Hey there buddy!" Kristoff tramped into the room, bits of snow still falling from his coat. He reached down to pick up the very excited dog. "Elsa, I found him on my way home. Someone must have just dropped him off."

Anna gasped and stood to pet him. "That's horrible! Who would do something like that?" She began talking to the dog again. "Especially to a little cutie like you!"

"Do you even realize what you're holding?" Elsa stood and brushed off short black hairs from her dress. "That's a black Norwegian elkhound puppy. Those dogs are vicious."

"No they're not. Don't you remember Papa had one? She hunted with him and helped protect him from wolves and other animals!" Anna continued to pet him.

The queen winced. "Don't you remember why we got rid of her?"

"Oh, that's right... She bit you, didn't she?" Anna sighed. "I'm sure she didn't mean to."

"We're not keeping that _thing_ here." Elsa crossed her arms. "I refuse."

Kristoff dumped the puppy in the princess's arms and went to plead with the queen. "Elsa, come on. We can't leave Vilhelm alone. He'll die out there!"

"You named him already?" She shook her head. "I said no, Kristoff. And that's final."

Anna held out little Vilhelm. "But look at that face, Elsie! Look at those cute little eyes and that little nose...!"

Vilhelm whimpered softly as Elsa stared at him. His brown eyes were large and pleading. When she leaned in closer, he licked her nose. She wiped it off and groaned. "Fine. Fine! Vilhelm can stay until the end of winter. Then we're finding him a proper home, far away from me!" She cursed herself internally for not being able to resist any sort of puppyish look, especially not from an actual puppy.

Anna and Kristoff expressed their thanks as Vilhelm barked happily. He wriggled out of the princess's grip and ran around them on the ground. He barked and yipped and jumped at their legs in joy. Playtime had apparently begun with their excitement.

"But you two are taking care of him. I have nothing to do with him." Elsa glared at the pup. "Absolutely nothing."

"That's just fine." Anna turned to go. "Come on, Vilhelm!" She ran into the hallway, Vilhelm nipping at her heels.

Kristoff stayed behind and gazed down at her. "You really don't like dogs, do you?"

"I can't stand them. They're loud, they're messy, and most importantly, they're mean." She returned the gaze. "Carmen didn't like me much. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when she bit me. But that dog... I was so happy when Papa finally got rid of her."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can understand why you feel that way, but at least give Vilhelm a chance. He's just a puppy."

"And an annoying one. I'll let Anna have her fun, but as soon as spring comes, he's gone." She went back to the sofa and picked up her book. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to finish this."

Kristoff sighed softly and walked toward the door. "I'll talk to you later then." He shook his head. Elsa really wasn't pleased with him right now.

"Of course." She was already absorbed in her story.

He left the room to find Anna. Once again the sound of firewood crackling filled the library, but in the back of the queen's mind, she heard the shrill bark of a dog with every page.

* * *

Vilhelm quickly became a part of their small family. Anna doted on him and took it upon herself to train him with the help of some of the servants. She could always be found with the loyal dog by her side, be it during her free time or even at meals. Though when he did follow her into the dining room, he would usually see Elsa and beg for her attention, much to her chagrin.

Today, however, he was actually joining the queen. Having her schedule free of meetings and dumping some of her workload on Anna, she decided to visit Kristoff at his cabin. She scowled at the dog as he jumped around in the snow before her horse. "Vilhelm, heel!" She ordered.

He obeyed instantly, coming to walk beside her. Within a few minutes he went right back to romping. She sighed irritably. The only reason she agreed to take him along was to give her sister a bit more peace of mind. "He can protect you from wolves!" She'd said.

"Anna, it's daytime. There aren't going to be any wolves. Besides, I can fend them off perfectly well myself." But she gave in anyway, agreeing to take Vilhelm along.

Elsa felt a smile twitching at her lips. Even she couldn't deny that Vilhelm looked adorable playing in the snow. Though since joining the castle he'd grown, he was still very much a puppy. Just a large one, she noted. She giggled when he bounded back over to her, his black fur speckled with white.

"Not much longer now, Tinpan." She reached down to pat her horse. He shook his head with a tired whinny.

A howl split the air.

"Vilhelm!" She scolded, but noticed he barked in response to the howl as it sounded again. The color drained from her face. "Vilhelm, quiet!"

The elkhound continued to bark and growl.

Elsa dismounted her steed and grabbed him, kneeling in the snow. "Hush!" She hissed, clamping her hand over his muzzle.

He whimpered and licked her cold hand. "Ugh..." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

She heard another growl and looked up. Three mangy wolves crept toward them from the trees. She gasped and Vilhelm backed into her, huddling against her for protection. "It's all right. They're probably ill, or s-something. Separated from the pack..." She swallowed hard.

One of them let loose another howl. Tinpan reared and took off through the forest. Elsa watched him go helplessly, though her reverie was short-lived as she suddenly found herself on her back in the snow. A set of jaws snapped down on her forearm as she tried to protect herself. Using her other hand, she shot a blast of ice at the beast and it jumped back, howling as it ran back into the forest.

The queen grimaced at the blood—_her blood_—that now stained the snow. Ignoring it and the pain, she stood up. "Vilhelm, stay by me!" She was a little surprised when he did just that, huddling against her leg.

Elsa's eyes darted around. She didn't want to hurt the poor animals, per se, but she definitely didn't want to become lunch. As one lunged toward her, she forced as ice wall to rise up. The wolf smashed into it with a cry. She smiled slightly and glanced down at Vilhelm. He barked in defiance.

The remaining wolf ran forward, eyes flashing and teeth startlingly white against its dark face. She reached out with her injured arm. Instead of another impressive ice wall, she only managed a small snow hill. It was just enough to throw the beast off balance and instead of hitting her full on, she instead felt claws rake along her side. She fell back against the snow.

Elsa gritted her teeth and pushed herself up. Vilhelm stood between the recovered wolves and herself, barking and growling. "Vilhelm, no..." She knew Anna would never forgive her if something happened to him. "Vilhelm, heel!"

He obediently stepped back. She took a deep breath and shot another blast at the wolves, aiming to scare them off. Spikes of ice rose up, nearly impaling one of them. Fortunately it was enough to alert them of danger and they turned to flee. She smiled weakly before her strength failed her.

Vilhelm licked her cheek and whimpered. She pressed one hand to the wound in her side in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. "Vilhelm, no. Don't...do that..." She batted him away.

The elkhound scampered away from her and began howling. She felt darkness clouding her mind, too far gone to even yell at how loud he was being. He continued to bark and howl, running around frantically in the snow, but she didn't pay him any attention. Before her eyes fluttered closed, she noticed snow had begun to fall.

* * *

Elsa winced at the light that crossed her face. She moaned softly, her eyes opening to see Anna leaning over her. "She's awake!" The princess called behind her.

"Anna, what's going on?" The queen looked around, seeing that she laid in her own bed at the castle. She started to get up.

"Whoa, not so fast there!" Anna pinned her to the pillows by her shoulder. "You can't get up yet."

Elsa stared up at her. "How...did I get here?"

"Kristoff heard Vilhelm howling and he found you in the forest. You're so lucky, too; the doctor said that if you'd been out there much longer, you probably wouldn't have made it..." Anna bit her lip. "You lost a lot of blood."

She opened her mouth to protest when she felt something weigh down the other side of her bed. Soon a wet nose and two large brown eyes were staring her in the face. She blinked rapidly. "Um..."

Vilhelm licked the tip of her nose. He sat beside her, panting.

Kristoff dashed into the room. "I'm so sorry. I was coming here to see you and Vilhelm thought we were playing." He took a deep breath and looked down at Anna. "It doesn't help that someone left the door open."

"I wanted to let the maids know! Everyone's worried!"

Elsa ran her hand over Vilhelm's head and began gently scratching his chin. "Everyone...?" She frowned. "Anna, I'm sorry. I didn't intend for any of this to happen."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Anna hugged her awkwardly.

"I guess I have Vilhelm to thank for saving my life." She turned to smile at her sister and the ice harvester. "I...suppose letting Vilhelm stay for a little longer than just the end of winter is all right."

Anna gasped. "You mean it?!"

"Of course."

"Thank you so much!" The princess hugged Elsa again. "You're the best!"

Elsa flinched and tried to gently pry her off. "Anna, that hurts..."

Anna backed off. "Sorry!"

Vilhelm barked at the two, rolling over onto his back. His pink tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. Elsa smiled and rubbed his exposed belly. "You're welcome too." She noticed he began bouncing his leg with a happy growl. "Oh, you like that, don't you?"

Kristoff chuckled as he watched the queen. "See? Dogs aren't so bad!"

"I suppose not. Though I enjoy cats more." She sighed and cupped the puppy's chin. "Welcome to the family, Vilhelm."

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**Reviews are appreciated~**

**Also, black Norwegian elkhound puppies are adorable. I loved doing research for this one!**

**-LoRF**


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